NAME MEANS, "MY FATHER IS JOY"
Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!”
Abigail was a capable, intelligent woman in all matters of her life. She was married to a wicked, horrible person named Nabal—usually drunk and had a bad temper. Abigail had a tremendous amount of patience. She was willing to cover for her foolish husband and always weighed her decision wisely. She was too wise even to try reasoning with Nabal.
When Abigail met David to ask forgiveness for her foolish husband’s behavior – David just stared at her as she was beautiful, refined, and richly dressed kneeling before him. David was struck with Abigail’s intelligence and poise.
As David thought about Abigail, he realized she surely was a woman of uncommon ability and good judgment. She was always sensible. Abigail was a step ahead of David and how he would receive her wise counsel regarding her worthless husband’s foolishness.
She read his mind and said to David, “Please pardon your maid’s conduct. For the Lord shall certainly set you up a lasting dynasty, because you, my master, are fighting the Lord’s battles, and no evil is found in you for all your life. Should anyone undertake to persecute you and to seek your life, then my master’s soul will be wrapped in the bundle of life with the Lord your God.”David immediately, as he listened had a silence and admiration and respect for Abigail. Later, after Nabal died, David sent for Abigail, who became one of his eight wives.
Abigail did use her highest intelligence, and yet she was able to do it and retain her poise in the process because she truly believed God. What does it really mean to believe God? Relevant to my thoughts about Abigail the woman with God’s own poise, it mean this: if we are to act in the tight places as though we really believe what we claim, we must realize that believing includes seeing realistically as God sees!
Abigail was realistic about her husband, Nabal. He was a fool, a drunkard, a crude and ridiculous man. She knew this and she accepted it. Her acceptance did not change him, but it did free her to avoid the pitfall of self-pity. This woman didn’t have time for self-pity. Do you find yourself in self-pity due to your circumstances?
Abigail always appeared to keep her poise even when everything was extremely difficult. Abigail was being Abigail before David came on the scene. As far as she was concerned, she would never see the handsome young man again after that day in the mountain pass (see 1 Samuel 25 for entire story). She returned home to the same old situation, and used her intelligence to wait until morning to tell her husband what David had said. He died soon afterward and she was, at last, free of him. Abigail had no idea he was going to die. She intended to go on being God’s child, making the intelligent most of her dreadful situation before and after meeting David, and before and after Nabal’s death.
Only God can give woman poise like Abigail possessed, and God can only do it when a woman is willing to cooperate as Abigail cooperated with him on every point. Abigail showed a lot of loyalty to Nabal even though he constantly made a fool of himself. She made the most of her skills and opportunities. David was impressed with her abilities.
Abigail was an effective counselor to both of the men in her life, working hard to prevent them from making rash moves. By her swift action and skillful negotiation, she kept David from taking vengeance upon Nabal. She saw the big picture and left plenty of room for God to get involved.
Do you, like Abigail, look beyond the present crisis to the big picture? Do you use your skills to promote peace? Are you loyal without being blind? What challenge or responsibility do you face today that needs a person under God’s control?
